1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for treating tuberculosis. More particularly, the present invention relates a method of using EZETIMIBE for treating a patient suffering from tuberculosis.
2. The Prior Arts
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by Mycobacteria species, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis in humans. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air, when people who have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit. Most infections in humans result in an asymptomatic, latent infection, and about one in ten latent infections eventually progresses to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than 50% of its victims.
The classic symptoms are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs causes a wide range of symptoms. Diagnosis relies on radiology (commonly chest X-rays), a tuberculin skin test, blood tests, as well as microscopic examination and microbiological culture of bodily fluids. Treatment is difficult and requires long courses of multiple antibiotics. Contacts are also screened and treated if necessary. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in (extensively) multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Prevention relies on screening programs and vaccination, usually with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine.
Despite pulmonary tuberculosis can be controlled by drug treatment, the number of infected population is however increasing. One of the problems is that the reliable diagnostic assays capable of rapidly discriminating the latent infection and thus effective treatment are not readily accessible. Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies, especially in treating tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 
Azetidinones have been reported as being useful in lowering cholesterol and/or in inhibiting the formation of cholesterol-containing lesions in mammalian arterial walls. U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,365, U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,115 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,966 disclose hydroxy-substituted azetidinones useful as hypocholesterolemic agents in the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosisas, and the process for preparing hydroxy-substituted azetidinones. In particular, one of the most commonly used compound is (3R,4S)-1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-[(3S)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-hydroxypropyl]-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)zetidin-2-one represented as formula (Ia).

The compound shown as above is (3R,4S)-1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-[(3S)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-hydroxypropyl]-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)zetidin-2-one (EZETIMIBE), an anti-hyperlipidemic medication which is used to lower cholesterol levels. It acts by decreasing cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Particularly, EZETIMIBE localizes at the brush border of the small intestine, where it inhibits the absorption of cholesterol from the intestine. Specifically, it appears to bind to a critical mediator of cholesterol absorption, the Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) protein on the gastrointestinal tract epithelial cells as well as in hepatocytes. In addition to this direct effect, decreased cholesterol absorption leads to an upregulation of LDL-receptors on the surface of cells and an increased LDL-cholesterol uptake into cells, thus decreasing levels of LDL in the blood plasma which contribute to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. It may be used alone, marketed as Zetia or Ezetrol, when other cholesterol-lowering medications are not tolerated, or together with Statins. However, EZETIMIBE and its related pharmaceutical composition have never been reported to be used for treating tuberculosis.